LEGISLATORS, MEDIA MORE ADDLED THAN THE POTHEADS

Once again we are treated to the spectacle of Vancouver attempting to
lead the way in national drug policy, and once again it's a slapstick
comedy.

Soon after Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell sheepishly announced the
city's shoot-up site was a bigger "success" than expected (meaning
lots more junkies using this taxpayer-financed "service"), it was
"revealed" that there has been a plan all along to add a "safe"
crack-smoking room, which has already been built. This aspect of the
plan appears to have collapsed under the weight of its own
ridiculousness, but not to worry, it will be back.

And then an Amsterdam-style pot retail shop called Da Kine was
"revealed" on Commercial Drive. I couldn't help noticing the way the
"news" coverage was handled. After a standard city media gang-tackle
in the first two weeks of September, the public was eventually told
that this high-volume trafficking operation has in fact been open all
summer. The tourists knew, hundreds if not thousands of customers
knew, the neighbourhood certainly knew, but in a city with two
dailies, four TV stations and two news radio stations, the general
public didn't know until the store sent out a press release!

(It might be a coincidence, but in the weeks before Da Kine was
"revealed," a top editor of the city's largest daily wrote a long
series describing the massage of different parts of his body. The same
paper's city columnist wrote of how pretty his feet are, and included
a studio portrait of his feet. A detailed description of somebody's
navel may be next, but I digress.)

Once the city media were led by the hand to the story, the mayor found
out, and shrugged it off. Then the police admitted they had known for
some time. Then B.C.'s solicitor general felt moved to issue a
statement that the Narcotic Control Act is still in effect, even in
Vancouver, and that selling marijuana is in fact still illegal.

Regular folks, especially those seeing this store operate unmolested
all summer, could be forgiven for concluding that marijuana had been
legalized. Some of the young people I've heard from seem convinced
it's legal now.

Why? Well, for one thing, the former Prime Minister said simple
possession would be decriminalized. That legislation, launched with a
fanfare, was left like other bills to die on the order paper, leaving
the impression that the federal government was interested in a
short-term publicity hit, not actual governing.

Some of these young people may also have seen a recent program on
CBC's "all-news" channel called Play Goes to Pot. The host of this
taxpayer-funded public television "news" program sported a
custom-printed "Play Goes to Pot" t-shirt and microphone, both
decorated with big green marijuana leaves. He gleefully interviewed
pot activist Marc Emery and his guests as they took part in a
marijuana tasting that involved smoking huge joints and making
increasingly incoherent comments on the taste and "buzz" of the
various strains on hand.

The striking thing about this show, aside from the use of plastic bags
to deliver "supertokes" to the giggling participants and the
enthusiastic approval of the host, was the sheer quantity consumed. It
was the dope equivalent of guzzling Jack Daniel's out of the bottle,
Keith Richards-style.

(This bit of "public" TV is just the latest proof that CBC television
should be sold off or simply unplugged, but again I digress.)

What's a kid to make of a show like that, or of a Prime Minister who
solemnly promises to "decriminalize" pot?

The kid, or for that matter adult, is likely to conclude that Canadian
law is a joke, and he or she would be right. If young people don't
show sufficient deference to police or teachers or others, perhaps
it's partly because these attitudes trickle down from the top. They
may conclude that only chumps drive the speed limit, or pay their
taxes, or obey drug laws.

Like many Canadians, I support legalization of marijuana. Unlike more
dangerous narcotics, evidence suggests it is generally harmless if
used in moderation. As a practical matter, it's too easy to produce
locally to be successfully banned, wasting valuable police resources.

Now if we just had a federal government that would take action in a
serious, orderly way, and restore confidence in the law.